Marquez, Baker to scrap for fourth Superprestigio title
The MotoGP season may have ended three weeks ago, but Marc Marquez will find himself in the midst of competitive action once again in the fourth running of the Superprestigio dirt track event in Barcelona this weekend.
Set in the fabulous Montjuic hills that overlook the Catalan capital, the short, compact track inside the Palau San Jordi should see Marquez front up to American Flat Track star Brad Baker.
Among them, Marquez (once) and Baker (twice) have shared the wins across the past three events and there can be little doubting that both men will start Saturday as pre-race favourites.
While a collarbone injury forced serial flat track winner Jared Mees out of the event, Ferran Cardus' rapid development over recent months has been enough to convince Baker that the Spanish Flat Track champion could be a leading player in Saturday's event.
Baker told Crash.net, "Well, obviously my thoughts are to win the race, you know? I know I have two really good riders to compete against. The job is still the same. The objective is to win. The steps to get there are the same as the past. I'm just as good, if not better, than I have been in the past," said the American.
"Ferran [Cardus] is a lot better than what he has been in the past. He's just as good as Marc and I now. Maybe not as much on his race strategy yet and that's where I come in.
"My race strategy in flat track is not just about cutting a fast lap. It's about overtakes, setting people up, taking the right lines and just being calm [and] getting a good start. It's still going to be the same type of race. It's just both riders are a little bit better than they have been in the past and it will be just as difficult, if not a little more difficult, this year."
23 riders from grand prix and Superbike classes make up the 'Superprestigio' category, with world champions Nico Terol, Toni Elias, Julian Simon and Alex Marquez among them.
Baker and Cardus are the leading names from the 'Open' category, which also includes four-time Supermoto world champion Sylvain Bidart, five-time champion Thomas Chareyre, four-time long track champion Joonas Kylm?korpi and speedway star Fredrik Lindgren.
The UK is well represented in the 'Open' class, with Oliver Brindley, Toby Hales, Alan Birtwistle and George Pickering all involved, while World Supersport race winner Kyle Smith will compete in the 'Superprestigio' heats.
The two categories will compete in separate heats on Saturday evening before the all-important Superfinal, which sees the best from each side pitted against one another.
Superprestigio Category:
1 KYLE SMITH GBR HONDA
2 JESKO RAFFIN SUI YAMAHA
8 JORGE MARTIN ESP HONDA
11 VINCENT PHILIPPE FRA SUZUKI
12 XAVI FOR?S ESP SUZUKI
15 DANI RIBALTA ESP HONDA
18 NICO TEROL ESP SUZUKI
19 XAVIER SIMEON BEL SUZUKI
21 F, DI GIANNANTONIO ITA HONDA
23 MARCEL SCHROTTER GER SUZUKI
24 TONI ELIAS ESP SUZUKI
29 RAUL FERNANDEZ ESP HUSQVARNA
31 CARMELO MORALES ESP YAMAHA
36 JOAN MIR ESP HONDA
42 MARCOS RAMIREZ ESP HONDA
60 JULIAN SIMON ESP YAMAHA
73 ALEX MARQUEZ ESP HONDA
75 ALBERT ARENAS ESP KTM
81 JORDI TORRES ESP HONDA
88 RICKY CARDUS ESP SUZUKI
93 MARC MARQUEZ ESP HONDA
97 XAVI VIERGE ESP TECH3
111 RUBEN XAUS AND PURSANG
Open Category:
4 THOMAS CHAREYRE FRA TM
6 BRAD BAKER USA HONDA
10 FRANCESCO CECCHINI ITA TM
17 GERARD BAILO ESP SUZUKI
20 TOBY HALES GBR HUSQVARNA
30 ALAN BIRTWISTLE GBR HONDA
34 JORDI CASAS ESP HONDA
38 GEORGE PICKERING GBR KTM
48 EMANUELE MARZOTTO ITA YAMAHA
64 SYLVAIN BIDART FRA HONDA
66 FREDRIK LINDGREN SWE HONDA
70 MASATOSHI OHMORI JAP SUZUKI
72 GENIS GELADA ESP HONDA
77 FERRAN CARDUS ESP SUZUKI
79 JOSEP PIEDRA ESP HUSQVARNA
87 ORIOL MENA ESP HONDA
121 JOAN NOGUERA ESP YAMAHA
124 OLIVER BRINDLEY GBR KAWASAKI
179 GUILLERMO CANO ESP HONDA
181 GIANNI BORGIOTTI ITA SUZUKI
213 JAUME GAYA ESP HONDA
215 FERRAN SASTRE ESP KAWASAKI
971 TOM EDWARDS AUS SUZUKI
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